


Swan Queen Week Day 3: Time Travel

by Delirious_Comfort



Series: Swan Queen Week [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Swan Queen Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 11:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4347254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delirious_Comfort/pseuds/Delirious_Comfort
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue sends Regina back in time to tell Emma Swan a story in order to keep the Dark One from destroying her by tapping into her memories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swan Queen Week Day 3: Time Travel

**Author's Note:**

> TW: brief mention of self harm

“I’m not supposed to do this,” Blue said as she whipped out her wand. “But seeing as I’m the mother superior of the fairies, I guess it can’t do any harm.” Her chuckle died down when she noticed the unimpressed look on Regina’s face. A small cough made its way up her throat, “Remember, you cannot use your magic and you cannot reveal your identity, aside from your first name. We know the Snow Queen has already altered her memory once, to have to do it again could have dire consequences.”

Regina nodded, “Will she not remember this conversation when Henry brings her to Storybrooke for the first time?”

Blue shook her head, “I imagine your visit will register in her brain much like it would as if your conscience would speak to you. This version of Emma is wounded, Regina, unlike anything you and I can imagine. She has grown, but now that she is the Dark One, I don’t want to think what could happen if she taps into this part of her memories. I believe the hurt will consume and destroy her.”

Regina inhaled sharply, “How do I get back?”

“Magic will transport you back once you have succeeded in your task, Regina. It’s of the utmost importance that you complete this successfully, it’s a lot of weight to carry, but I have faith that you can do it.”

Regina scoffed, “The Blue fairy telling me she has faith in me. How the tables have turned.”

Blue smiled a warm smile, but she knew it was lost on the former Evil Queen. “You must go now, Regina. As I said before, I am not supposed to do this and I wasn’t even supposed to know about it and while I do not wish to reveal my source, I trust them implicitly. You won’t be bothered by the staff at the hospital, instinct will guide you to her. Go now, Regina.”

“Here goes nothing,” Regina said as she took one last look at the blue fairy before stepping into the portal. Portals were not unfamiliar to her, but this was the first time she would use one to travel back in time. The newfound Savior traveling back in time to save the old Savior. What a conundrum.

She took deep breaths as the new world formed around her; endless white-painted corridors filled with softly speaking nurses, the soft hum of the air-conditioning right above her and the bright lights that almost hurt her eyes.

Her eyes closed as she thought of Emma, the Savior who sacrificed herself for Regina’s happiness. Oh how she struggled to keep the dark at bay. There were days where Emma could withstand it without problems but most days it proved to be too difficult and she had already ripped out two hearts, thankfully Regina was there every time to stop her with the dagger. It pained her to have to use it on Emma and she could always see the hurt in Emma’s eyes when she did.

None of that mattered now. She was here to save the old Emma. The girl who grew up alone, without a family, the girl who fought so hard to find a home where she would be welcomed with open arms. Blue had come to Regina and shared few details on Emma’s current predicament and it had shattered Regina’s heart into a million pieces. She was given one chance to save Emma, before she would attempt to do something that would haunt Emma for the rest of her life.

Her feet carried her to the end of the corridor and Blue had been right. She was never stopped or even spoken to by any of the nurses, it was as if they were unaware of her presence, but a quick pinch on her arm told her she was very much there.

She swallowed thickly before pushing open the door to Emma’s room. Tentative steps were taken and she softly closed the door behind her, hoping it wouldn’t disturb Emma. One glance out of the window in front of her told her it was late at night and as her feet carried her forward her eyes landed on the fragile looking girl that lay in the hospital bed.

Her heart broke all over again when she noticed how young Emma was. The child was nothing like the grown woman that had antagonized Regina from the moment she had set foot in town and as she stood inches away from Emma she had to fight her instincts to reach out to Emma and cradle her in her arms.

Her eyes wandered down to the bandages that covered Emma’s arms and her eyes glossed over at the thought of how lonely Emma must have felt to resort to this. Her hand reached out to the blanket that covered Emma and she pulled it up a little higher around the girl, hoping it would provide some warmth and comfort while she was asleep.

She pulled up a chair and sat down as she pondered her next move. It wouldn’t do Emma much good to just wake her up and start speaking to her. She needed a plan, she was Regina Mills after all, her entire life consisted of well thought out plans that were followed to a T.

When Emma whimpered in her sleep, Regina scooted the chair closer and carefully placed her hand over Emma’s and her thumb stroked the soft skin beneath her hand. She smiled when Emma’s breathing became more elaborated, she leaned forward in her chair and with her other hand she brushed the strands of hair out of Emma’s face.

Even in her current state, Emma still looked beautiful and it pained Regina to think that Emma would probably disagree with her. She softly cooed the young girl when she whimpered again as her fingers gently threaded through Emma’s hair. “Ssh, Emma. You’re okay,” she whispered softly and her lips curled up in a small smile when Emma visibly relaxed.

She sat there for an hour as Emma slept before Emma groaned loudly. Regina pulled her hand back, not wanting to scare the girl and smiled a gentle smile, “Hello, Emma.” It tugged at her heart strings when Emma struggled with to even open her eyes and when she finally managed to do so, there was nothing but sadness and hurt in those eyes.

“Hi,” Emma croaked out.  “Who are you?”

“My name is Regina. How are you feeling?”

“My head feels fuzzy,” Emma said as she turned on her side and faced Regina. “Am I still at the hospital?”

Regina nodded, “How long have you been here?”

Emma shrugged, “I don’t remember. A few days, I think. Are you a doctor?”

Regina chuckled, “Not exactly, but I am here to take care of you. I didn’t get a chance to look at your file, how old are you?”

“Eleven,” Emma murmured. “Are you a shrink?”

Regina shook her head, “No. Let’s say that I’m a story teller.” She knew Emma was young, but to hear that she was only eleven shocked her.

Emma smiled, “You are? I like stories.”

“Do you like telling stories or being told stories?”

“I like being read to,” her voice trailed off as a tear rolled down her cheek. “My foster family used to read to me before they returned me to the group home.”

Regina reached out with a hand and covered Emma’s hand again, she smiled when Emma didn’t pull her hand away or flinch. “Why did they return you?”

“They said I was bad. I tried really hard to be good, but my foster mom said I have the devil inside of me.”

Regina gasped as her own eyes glossed over, “It’s not very nice of your foster mother to tell lies. No one has the devil inside of them, Emma.”

“Are you going to tell me a story,” Emma asked, dismissing Regina’s previous statement.

“If I do, will you tell me how you ended up in the hospital?”

Emma bit her lip and was quiet for a long time before giving a faint nod.

“May I sit with you,” Regina asked as she stood up and she smiled when Emma scooted over in bed and made room for Regina. “Thank you, Emma.” She leaned back against the pillow and lay her hands on her lap, she had told Henry countless of stories, but she knew this story couldn’t be like any other story. This story had to give Emma hope, enough hope to stop her from making a decision that Emma would regret for the rest of her life and that potentially could destroy her now that she was the Dark One.

She smiled as she looked at Emma and softly spoke, “Once Upon a Time there was a little girl named Snow White. She had hair as black as the night and lips-“

“Red as blood,” Emma finished for her. “I already know this story.”

Regina chuckled, “Trust me, this is not your average Snow White story. Just listen. She had hair as black as the night and lips plum as a freshly plucked peach. Her skin wasn’t white as snow, but it was quite pale, she was a very pretty girl, just like you. One day her father took her to the stables for her riding lesson. Snow White was a little stubborn and when her father suggested a calm pony to ride, Snow White shook her head and pointed to a beautiful stallion, ‘That is the one I want’ she said.”

Regina looked at Emma with a raised eyebrow, “Never trust a hot-tempered horse, Emma, they’re unpredictable and they will run off at the first taste of freedom.”

“Did Snow White’s horse run off too?”

Regina nodded, “It did. It galloped quickly threw a wide open field and Snow White was screaming at the top of her lungs for anyone to help her. That is when a Princess appeared out of nowhere on a horse and saved Snow White from the horse.”

Regina’s heart warmed when Emma lay her head tentatively against her shoulder as she told her the story of how the Princess become Snow White’s stepmother. Emma gasped and frowned at all the appropriate places and cried softly when Regina got to the part where her own mother had tricked Snow White into giving away the secret that led to Daniel’s death.”

“This is not a happy story,” Emma said as placed a hand on top of Regina’s and played with her fingers.

“Sometimes we have to go through something that is really sad and something that really hurts us before we can get to our happy ending,” Regina reassured. She continued her story and smiled when Emma seemed to be absolutely enthralled with it.

“Snow White looked at the Evil Queen as she took a bite out of the apple and before she could even swallow, she hit the ground and the apple rolled away from her. The Evil Queen laughed but she would soon find out that cursing Snow White wouldn’t bring her the happy ending she was looking for.”

“The Evil Queen sounds really sad,” Emma said as her eyes cast down.

“She was,” Regina nodded. “She loved Daniel very much.” She swallowed thickly as she briefly remembered the young stable boy that had stolen her heart once. His death seemed so far away now and she was proud of how she was able to overcome the hardship she had endured. She had brought a lot of pain and suffering onto the world, but now.. Now she was the Savior. It was still hard to believe, but she knew better than to mess with the fates. If this was her destiny, she was going to fulfill it to the best of her abilities.

She wrapped an arm around Emma’s shoulder and pulled her close when the young girl yawned and curled up against her as she spoke of how Snow White fell in love with Prince Charming and how the Evil Queen tried with all her might to destroy their happiness. “When Snow White finally gave birth she held the most precious baby girl into her arms.”

Emma gasped, “What was her name?”

Regina smiled, “Her name was Emma.”

Emma chuckled, “You are silly. That is my name.”

“Is it?” Regina joked. “Well how about that! Do you remember when I told you about the magic closet and the curse?”

Emma nodded, “To keep baby Emma safe.”

“Exactly. So Prince Charming placed baby Emma in the closet and it glowed with magic and when he opened the doors, baby Emma was gone.”

“Where did she go?”

“To another world. She wasn’t alone though, because Pinocchio was in the other world as well and he would keep her safe for a few months before he’d run off with his friends from the group home.”

Emma frowned, “Baby Emma was in a group home too?”

Regina nodded, “She was and just like you she struggled with finding a family that would love her like she deserved to be. But you know what? Emma is all grown up now and she is loved by so many people.”

“Do you think someone will one day love me?”

A tear rolled down Regina’s cheek, “Absolutely. You will be so loved, young one. You have no idea just how special you are.”

“Did Emma find her family again?”

“She did. When Emma was younger she gave birth to a little baby boy and that little boy was adopted by none other than the mayor of Storybrooke.”

Emma gasped, “The Evil Queen!”

“Yes. But she was no longer called that. Instead the people of Storybrooke now called her Madam Mayor and she loved the little boy with all her heart. And as he grew up he loved stories, just like you. So his school teacher gave him a book filled with stories of Snow White and the Evil Queen. And one day when the baby boy was ten years old he ran away from home in search of his real mother and he found her and brought her to Storybrooke.”

“Did he get in trouble for running away?”

“Oh yes. He was grounded for two weeks! But he didn’t really mind because he knew that he brought the Savior back to town and all would be well now. And he was right because there would come a day when Henry was really sick and when Emma kissed his forehead the curse broke and that’s when Emma was finally reunited with her mother and father.”

“Wow,” Emma said in wonder. “That was a good story.”

Regina smiled, “So you see, no matter how hard our story gets, we must never give up hope, because one day our story will become a happy one and we should all be here to see it.”

Emma nodded, “Do you think I could one day be happy too?”

Regina turned slightly and cupped Emma’s cheek, “You will be so happy, and you will bring so much happiness to the people around you. Will you tell me why you are sad?”

Emma bit her lip and nodded. “My caretaker at the group home was really mad at me for being sent back and she slapped me in the face. It really hurt. The other children made fun of me and it made me really sad. Sometimes we get to take a bath and when it was my turn I found a piece of broken glass in the corner of the bathroom.” Her lip quivered as tears spilled from her eyes.

“Some of the children always tell me I don’t deserve to live with them or with a family and when I thought of that I got really mad and accidentally cut myself in my hand with the piece of glass. It felt really nice, so I tried it on my arms.”

Regina felt her stomach churn and it took everything she had not to use her magic to heal Emma’s arms. “I’m sorry they hurt you so much, little one. You deserve to be happy.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt me so badly. It was a little bit of an accident, but it also felt nice. I didn’t have to cry so hard but then I got really nauseous and I don’t really know what happened next.”

“I think you fainted and that’s when you were brought to the hospital.”

Emma nodded, “The doctors don’t really speak to me and my caretaker said I would stay in the hospital for a few days. At night they give me medicine to help me sleep but they make me feel fuzzy. I don’t like them, I hid the pill I had to take tonight.”

Regina shook her head and smiled, “You should probably take it, it will help you sleep and I think it will also make you feel much better soon. Sometimes the things we have to do to get better are really yucky,” she scrunched up  her nose to make Emma laugh and smiled when she succeeded.

“You’re silly.”

“Sometimes,” she tapped Emma’s nose with a finger. “You can be silly too. I bet when you grow up, you’re going to be really funny and people will fall in love with you from the moment they lay eyes on you.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely,” Regina winked. “Are you a little less sad now?”

Emma nodded, “Thank you for telling me a story. I really liked it.”

“Promise me that whenever you get sad, you will think about the story I told you and remember that your happiness is just around the corner.”

“I promise.”

“Good girl, I think you should take your medicine now and go to sleep, so you can have the very sweetest of dreams.”

Emma nodded as she reached under the pillow and for the cup of water on her night stand. She stuck out her tongue at Regina to show that she had swallowed the pill and laid back down. A smile spread on her face when Regina tucked her in and kissed her forehead. “Will you be here when I wake up?”

Regina shook her head, “Sorry sweetheart, I won’t be. But I promise that you’ll see me again one day.”

“Okay,” Emma murmured before closing her eyes and drifting off into a deep sleep.

Regina took a deep breath when she felt the magic surge through her body and threaded her fingers into Emma’s hair, “You are so loved, little girl. Never forget that.” Her thumb stroked Emma’s cheek and she stood up straight and closed her eyes as she was pulled back to Storybrooke.

“Welcome back,” Blue said. “How did it go?”

Regina swallowed back the sob that threatened to escape her throat, “That little girl is so incredibly lost, it broke my heart. I told her the story though and she said she felt a little less sad.”

Blue nodded, “You did your job, Regina, or you wouldn’t be back here. You should go home now, it’s late.”

Regina nodded, “Thank you for your help.” When Blue nodded she waved her hand and poofed back home. The events of today had absolutely exhausted her and she went straight to bed. Sleep found her easily and it wasn’t until several hours later when she was woken up by some gentle prodding in her side.

“Hi.”

“Emma,” she murmured. “Back so soon?” She smiled as she rolled over and held out her arms for Emma to crawl inside of them. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, I always feel safest in your arms,” Emma whispered. “I feel better when I’m around you. Dark One or not.”

“You know we will get the darkness out of you, Emma. You just have to sit still, happiness is right arou-“

“The corner,” Emma finished for her as she frowned. “When I was a little girl a woman visited me once. I think she told me a story but I don’t really remember, I think I was heavily medicated. But I remember her telling me that happiness was right around the corner. It saved me from doing much worse than the one time I cut myself.”

Regina’s eyebrows arched at that, “Really?”

“Yeah, if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have believed that one day I could be happy. I wish I could remember her. I’d find her and thank her.”

Regina smiled, “I think she knows. Fate works in funny ways.”

Emma grinned, “Says the former Evil Queen turned Savior.”

“Says the woman I love dearly who was once a major pain in my ass.”

Emma smiled before kissing Regina on the lips, “It all worked out though, you and me against the world.”

Regina cuddled Emma closer to her, “You seem happy today. I was getting worried.”

“I don’t know what it is, it’s like a new found faith that I know I can beat this thing.”

Regina smiled, “Together.”

“Together.”


End file.
